Internal estimates at Best Buy suggest the iPad has cut into notebook sales by as much as 50 percent.

The news came as part of a change to Best Buy's retail strategy, according to the Wall Street Journal. Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn announced Tuesday that the iPad will be coming this fall to all 1,093 Best Buy retail stores.

The Richfield, Minn., company reported a 61 percent jump in profit Tuesday, as sales shifted away from big-screen televisions and PCs toward hand-held gadgets and consumer devices. In addition to several accounting changes, increased sales of smartphones and portable computers, especially the iPad, contributed to the surprise profit.

"People are willing to disproportionately spend for these devices because they are becoming so important to their lives," said Dunn.

Earlier this week, Dunn announced he views the iPad as a "magnificent shining light" in the new category of tablets. Dunn estimated that the iPad "had cannibalized sales from laptop PCs by as much as 50%," according to the Journal's report.

This holiday season, Best Buy hopes to capitalize even more on this shift in consumer spending by heavily promoting Apple's iPad and Amazon's Kindle in its stores.

However, Best Buy likely won't be the only major retailer with the iPad this holiday season. Target is rumored to be getting the iPad as early as Oct. 3. In April, a Walmart VP told BusinessWeek that the company expects to carry the iPad by the end of the year.

That just shows that people were previously buying something more complicated than they really needed. This is a good thing, it means people are saving money, getting something closer to their needs. Or from a whole-of-society perspective, things just got more efficient.

It doesn't really matter. Unless you want to put forward a theory that people who buy notebooks at Best Buy are particularly susceptible to being wooed by a tablet, as much as half represents a significant defection on the part of this particular segment of buyers-- a segment that surely, at least in some ways, is representative of buyers in general.

They spoke of the sayings and doings of their commander, the grand duke, and told stories of his kindness and irascibility.

That just shows that people were previously buying something more complicated than they really needed. This is a good thing, it means people are saving money, getting something closer to their needs. Or from a whole-of-society perspective, things just got more efficient.

If we talk about a trasition to tablets in general. Maybe, when competing and cheaper tablets come into play. Majority will likely buy cheaper comparable tablets, which fill their needs well enough (people tend to be cheap in general). Kind of like Macbooks vs. other notebooks.

Maybe, when competing and cheaper tablets come into play. Majority will likely buy cheaper comparable tablets, which fill their needs well enough (people tend to be cheap in general).

The long term effect of netbooks may have been to teach the "Good enough" crowd the difference between "Product can do this." and "Product can do this well enough that it is worth the effort of trying." If that is the case then cheep knockoff tablets will continue to do badly in the market as they did before the iPad.

That just shows that people were previously buying something more complicated than they really needed. This is a good thing, it means people are saving money, getting something closer to their needs. Or from a whole-of-society perspective, things just got more efficient.

Or maybe people are just getting dumber. I love my iPad, but yeah, imagine those who find netbooks too complicated (the fact that they are crap anyway notwithstanding)...

As for OS X, most people new to Mac are completely flummoxed by it. Thanks to iOS, simple is the new black. And anything else, too much bang and whiz.

I would wager most people that use Windows probably just do it for downloads, Facebook and Office.

In all seriousness, there are major shifts in computing and media/internet consumption underway.

How can anyone by flummoxed by an OS many magnitudes simpler than MS Windoze, what hope is there.
Can someone tell me what is difficult about OS X?
I was new to it in May 2005 and yet to read any manual or guide, but could work it within hours!!
In OS X there are generally more than one way to complete a task so you can work the way that feels comfortable to you. For example, to copy some text from a webpage to a Word document, you could do the windows method of copy and paste, or you can select and drag / drop (if the app is currently in the background, hover over the app in the dock and it will spring to the foreground).

You do however have a point, that comparing working with iOS on an iPad and Windows (a desktop based OS) on a netbook, it becomes clear that iOS is optimised for mobile devices.

I've used both a netbook and an iPad, and for me, the biggest advantage of the iPad was simple navigation between apps and the overall speed of the device. Having a low powered netbook running a desktop class OS, is so stupid and clumsy. It is too demanding on the processor, which gets hot, and then needs additional power to cool. You end up with massive batteries just to get reasonable operating times, whereas the lightweight iOS doesn't heavily load the processor, which remains cool without requiring power hungry cooling!

It will be interesting to see what the upcoming competition to the iPad will be like to use. I suspect that by the time they come up with something that matched the current iPad, the 3rd generation iPad will knock them away again!!

If we talk about a trasition to tablets in general. Maybe, when competing and cheaper tablets come into play. Majority will likely buy cheaper comparable tablets, which fill their needs well enough (people tend to be cheap in general). Kind of like Macbooks vs. other notebooks.

Regs, Jarkko

I believe saving money could be relative, depending on the variables.
For example WHY you buy a Mac, if for any Mac there is a cheeper Window PC.

I have an iPad and an HP netbook. There's no compelling reason to buy a netbook right now because all the netbooks on the market are pretty much the same product that they've been for two years. The new HP netbooks have exactly the same specs and features as my two year old one. Just the fact that the iPad is something that's actually new is going to give it a sales advantage.

Just to be clear - the article says notebook - not netbook. Some of he comments here infer that he said netbook.

The article is also ambiguous. It implies that notebook sales have dropped by 50% overall. However, I suspect he is talking about some specific models. If Best Buy's notebook sales have dropped off 50%, they are in deep trouble.

If we talk about a trasition to tablets in general. Maybe, when competing and cheaper tablets come into play. Majority will likely buy cheaper comparable tablets, which fill their needs well enough (people tend to be cheap in general). Kind of like Macbooks vs. other notebooks.

Regs, Jarkko

Forgetting about the fact that Mac sales are soaring, which of the impending iPad clones are significantly cheaper (than the iPad)?

Am I the only one that finds this strange? I don't see the two devices as being comparable. A notebook computer after all, is a completely independent device. While an iPad requires another computer to manage it. So is Best Buy complaining people aren't replacing old computers with new ones, but adding iPads (as accessories) to their old systems?

How can anyone by flummoxed by an OS many magnitudes simpler than MS Windoze, what hope is there.
Can someone tell me what is difficult about OS X?
I was new to it in May 2005 and yet to read any manual or guide, but could work it within hours!!
In OS X there are generally more than one way to complete a task so you can work the way that feels comfortable to you. For example, to copy some text from a webpage to a Word document, you could do the windows method of copy and paste, or you can select and drag / drop (if the app is currently in the background, hover over the app in the dock and it will spring to the foreground).

You do however have a point, that comparing working with iOS on an iPad and Windows (a desktop based OS) on a netbook, it becomes clear that iOS is optimised for mobile devices.

I've used both a netbook and an iPad, and for me, the biggest advantage of the iPad was simple navigation between apps and the overall speed of the device. Having a low powered netbook running a desktop class OS, is so stupid and clumsy. It is too demanding on the processor, which gets hot, and then needs additional power to cool. You end up with massive batteries just to get reasonable operating times, whereas the lightweight iOS doesn't heavily load the processor, which remains cool without requiring power hungry cooling!

It will be interesting to see what the upcoming competition to the iPad will be like to use. I suspect that by the time they come up with something that matched the current iPad, the 3rd generation iPad will knock them away again!!

Phil

Short answer: I work for Best Buy, and the reason is simple. People are familiar with Windows, have been using it since the days of Windows 95, and have a fear of switching. People don't want to know there is something better, especially when the price tag is at least twice as much as the other computer they see.

Disclaimer: These views are solely my opinion, and in no way reflect the opinions or views of Best Buy, its constituents, or its shareholders.

How can anyone by flummoxed by an OS many magnitudes simpler than MS Windoze, what hope is there.
Can someone tell me what is difficult about OS X?

It's not that it's difficult, it's that it's different. I have several friends who have switched, and they love their Macs. But would sometimes make comments about how they have to relearn things. Similarly, driving on the left side of the road is no more difficult than driving on the right. But if you have 20 years of experience and muscle memory to overcome, it can be a bit scary at first.

The Apple table was crowded. The laptop/netbook display was empty with 5 staffers shooting the breeze. The iPad has decimated notebook sales. It must be terrifying for manufacturers to see inventory just pile up in the supply chain.

In a world of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.

I have an iPad and an HP netbook. There's no compelling reason to buy a netbook right now because all the netbooks on the market are pretty much the same product that they've been for two years. The new HP netbooks have exactly the same specs and features as my two year old one. Just the fact that the iPad is something that's actually new is going to give it a sales advantage.

so true. i think these companies holding back on new netbooks are just plain stupid. i will take a modern netbook right now over an ipad but not one of these old model netbooks. not saying that as the ipad is 'bad' just that it doesn't do quite enough and i would like a small device like a netbook with the latest processor in it and better battery life.

The Apple table was crowded. The laptop/netbook display was empty with 5 staffers shooting the breeze. The iPad has decimated notebook sales. It must be terrifying for manufacturers to see inventory just pile up in the supply chain.

they must be selling to someone but i find it odd that when i go to starbucks i have not seen a single ipad since they came out. in fact i was in one large starbucks and looked around and there were about 12 laptops being used. 1 was a mac the rest looked to be hp's and dell's. most looked like full size laptops not many were netbooks that i could make out. could have been the part of town i was in just wasn't 'hip'

Really that is stunning relative to the prognostications by most pundits before the iPad shipped. To go from some estimates as low as 1mil units for CY2010 to affecting an entire segment (netbooks) and now retailers reporting as much as 50% loss in general notebooks sales (which I assume is including netbooks) is pretty much unheard of. Really, has one company done more with essentially a "single innovation" (multi-touch only interface) than Apple?

they must be selling to someone but i find it odd that when i go to starbucks i have not seen a single ipad since they came out. in fact i was in one large starbucks and looked around and there were about 12 laptops being used. 1 was a mac the rest looked to be hp's and dell's. most looked like full size laptops not many were netbooks that i could make out. could have been the part of town i was in just wasn't 'hip'

Around here it's different, the majority of laptops I see tend to be Macbooks, then netbooks (all makes), then Dell lappies and HP lappies. I have seen a smattering of ipads and the frequency appears to be increasing, though slowly. However, this makes sense, your talking about years of notebook/netbook purchases vs only months of supply constrained ipad purchases. Plus I bet a lot of ipads never/rarely make it out of the house, I know ours doesn't as it has become the defacto "home computer" so it gets pretty risky to take it out for fear of angering the wife or kids. I suspect a year from now the number of "pad/slate" sightings at your local caffeine establishment will increase significantly.

they must be selling to someone but i find it odd that when i go to starbucks i have not seen a single ipad since they came out. in fact i was in one large starbucks and looked around and there were about 12 laptops being used. 1 was a mac the rest looked to be hp's and dell's. most looked like full size laptops not many were netbooks that i could make out. could have been the part of town i was in just wasn't 'hip'

Mac and iPad popularity definitely varies by market. I've observed the inverse situation in Austin TX or San Francisco - it's actually becoming rare to see a PC laptop there. In Boston and NY it's 50% or close to it - and many PCs have Apple stickers on 'em

If we talk about a trasition to tablets in general. Maybe, when competing and cheaper tablets come into play. Majority will likely buy cheaper comparable tablets, which fill their needs well enough (people tend to be cheap in general). Kind of like Macbooks vs. other notebooks.

Regs, Jarkko

The AI article refers to notebooks and not to netbooks. And I guess most notebooks sell for more then 600$. But tell me if I am wrong, since I rarely look at notebook prices other than macbooks.

AAh don't be so realistic. Let us dream a little. In a world battered with crime and wars people need some things to dream about. Anyway, I don't think anybody wants apple to be without any competition.

BTW I haven't heard the outcry "APPLE IS DOOMED" yet, so it's me this time:

Unlikely. Microsoft got off scot free despite a practical monopoly in OSes and office software. If anything, the Justice department is probably cheering for Apple's vertically integrated model, because it limits the damage they can do to the market unlike a horizontally integrated model like Microsoft, which sticks its fingers into Windows, Office, XBox, Zune, Windows 7 Phone, and more. Even Exxon Mobile has committed far worse crimes against humanity (and not just because it was making a boatload of money, as you seem to imply), yet the "Justice" department has done nothing.

Good thing Microsoft is incompetent, otherwise we would be seeing no Apple at all today, and where would we would be without the iPhone to show others how interface design should be?

2020 : Steve Jobs is elected president of the United States (but insists
for its salary to be one dollar / year only

I was laughing up to this point, but I doubt anyone can do a good job as President nowadays with Congress so heavily divided on even simple issues such as saving jobs. Republicans don't want to agree with Democrats, and Democrats are pushing for economic stimulus packages. So there's deadlock.

so true. i think these companies holding back on new netbooks are just plain stupid. i will take a modern netbook right now over an ipad but not one of these old model netbooks. not saying that as the ipad is 'bad' just that it doesn't do quite enough and i would like a small device like a netbook with the latest processor in it and better battery life.

Check out the Dell mini 10. All day battery, hot-shit processor, wireless n. You can even get a TV tuner built in, and a huge hard drive for watching movies on the go. It plays Flash and every other streaming video format without any problems.

It has much expanded capabilities over any iPad, and it starts at half the price (without the TV tuner).

I was laughing up to this point, but I doubt anyone can do a good job as President nowadays with Congress so heavily divided on even simple issues such as saving jobs. Republicans don't want to agree with Democrats, and Democrats are pushing for economic stimulus packages. So there's deadlock.

Maybe the congress could be changed into something as efficient as the appstore.

This was absolutely expected. There was a gap in the market, and Apple filled it. People who don't need the robust functionality of a laptop can now buy an ipad, whereas before, they would have just bought the laptop.

Check out the Dell mini 10. All day battery, hot-shit processor, wireless n. You can even get a TV tuner built in, and a huge hard drive for watching movies on the go. It plays Flash and every other streaming video format without any problems.

It has much expanded capabilities over any iPad, and it starts at half the price (without the TV tuner).

I can't find the tv tuner option, and the hole-shit processor I saw on it is the standard atom processor in pretty much all netbooks.

Check out the Dell mini 10. All day battery, hot-shit processor, wireless n. You can even get a TV tuner built in, and a huge hard drive for watching movies on the go. It plays Flash and every other streaming video format without any problems.

It has much expanded capabilities over any iPad, and it starts at half the price (without the TV tuner).